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One of the passages will be a journalistic piece of writing, usually taken from a relatively "highbrow" newspaper. The other passage will be of a literary nature, taken from a novel or a work of fiction. A poem has not yet appeared at Higher Level although it could technically occur in this literary section.
The Questions include:
[a] Multiple choice (i.e. choosing answer a, b, c or d).
[b] Finding synonyms in the passage. ("Un synonyme" is a word or phrase which means more or less the same thing as another word or phrase which you are presented with in the question. E.g. "une auto" is a synonym for "une voiture"; "maman" is a synonym for "ma mère"; "les doigts de pied" is a synonym for "les orteils".)
[c] Finding words or phrases which reveal something to the reader about a character, a place, an atmosphere, or a relationship in the passage.
[d] Picking out various tenses, adjectives, pronouns and other items of grammar and identifying them.
[e] Answering precise, short questions on specific parts of the text in French. In the cases of points [b], [c] and [d] above, no manipulation of the text is required, but for these questions the candidate must attempt to explain his/her answers in his/her own, relatively simple French.
[f] Question 6 on both passages is asked in English and must be answered in English. It aims to check the candidate's ability to "read between the lines" and to form his/her personal opinion of the passage. There is a 50 word limit to the answer and obviously you must build into this answer reference to the text which supports your claims. Quotation is not actually necessary if reference is well done. In any case, it should be kept to an absolute minimum. Note that the wording of the question since it was introduced in 1997 has always been, "Refer to the text in support of your answer."
There are two other types of question which also appear on the syllabus but which are, realistically, more likely to occur on the Ordinary Level paper. However, for good practice, let us look at these.
[1] Summarising the passage on a grid or table (i.e. producing one summary sentence for each section/paragraph until you have a five-sentenced passage summary).
[2] Matching a title to a paragraph to make sure that you know what's basically going on in the passage. This is a simpler version of [1]. You are given the summaries in the form of a short title, they are set out of sequence, and you must match them up with the section which they best describe.
Final Note on the questions
[A] "Trouvez" means "Find"
"Relevez" means "Reveal"
"Citez" means "Quote"
All three words suggest that you may take your answer directly from the passage. No manipulation of the text is required. However, make sure that you only write down relevant words and phrases. There is a penalty for either "over-answering" or "under-answering." Practice teaches best here!
[B] In the grammatical questions, over-answering is penalised heavily. If asked for a tense, pick out only the tense, not the "je/tu/il/elle/nous/vous/ils/elles" as well! If asked for a past participle, do not give the whole "passé composé" etc.
[C] In multiple choice questions, one answer can usually be dismissed almost immediately. It will have no connection with the other three. It is therefore usually wrong. (Be warned, however - this is not always the case!) Look for a link between answers. One of the "linked" answers is usually correct. Use your common sense also. Some answers are evidently bizarre!
How to Approach the reading passages
There are several ways in which to tackle a reading comprehension. Naturally, no one technique is perfect at all times and for all passages. However, the technique outlined hereafter is, in my experience, the one which students have found, and continue to find, most effective.
It is particularly useful for students who suffer from "reading fatigue." The passages are often dauntingly long. A student vigorously works his/her way through at least half of the passage. Then, "coming up for air," he/she discovers - in horror - that "nothing has gone in." The student has no idea what he/she has just read! This is "reading fatigue"! Many students have experienced such moments. The following technique serves to minimize this fatigue greatly and thereby increase exam productivity.
THE "Chunk" or "Focused" Reading Technique
[1] If there are headings or sub-headings, read these first.
[2] Next, or firstly as the case my be, read not the text, but the questions that follow. (The questions will focus your mind on what it is that you are looking for in the passage.) They will provide a considerable amount of information about the text before you have even read it. In other words, when you do begin to read the text, you will not be doing so "completely in the dark." You will already have quite a good idea of what's going on. Your mind will be more focused, and hence the term "focused reading technique."
[3] Now, go back and read Question 1 again, this time in isolation from the other questions.
[4] Now read Section 1 of the reading passage. (All passages have numbered sections and answers which generally occur in the same sequence as questions.) Some questions may even direct you to the section about which you are being questioned.
[5] Read Question 2 in isolation and then Section 2 of the passage.
[6] Continue in this manner until you have read the entire passage. (You will not have read the passage as a whole, from start to finish, without interruption. This would have lead to instant memory loss ("reading fatigue")!! Instead, you will have read it in more readily digestible, "bite-size" chunks, and hence the term "chunk reading technique.")
[7] Grammatical questions will point out the section you need, so the technique is not needed here.
[8] For the last question, the one which is answered in English and which involves personal opinion and emotional response, the reader is encouraged to gloss back quickly over the entire passage in order to form this opinion.
